Pesticide Labels, Safety Data Sheets and Product Information
The label is the law
The approved label is the legal document for a product. It carries the PCP registration number, the guarantee (active ingredient, concentration and formulation type), the provincial class designation, the target pests and use sites, mixing and application rates, application methods, restrictions, re-entry intervals, personal protective equipment, storage and disposal directions, first aid and toxicological statements, and hazard symbols with signal words (POISON, DANGER, WARNING, CAUTION).
Using a product at a higher rate, on an unlisted site, by an unlisted method, or against an unlisted pest is an offence. Where a work order, a client request or a salesperson's advice conflicts with the label, the label governs.
SDS versus label
The Safety Data Sheet comes from the manufacturer under WHMIS and has 16 standardized sections: identification; hazard identification; composition; first aid; firefighting; accidental release; handling and storage; exposure controls and PPE; physical and chemical properties; stability and reactivity; toxicological information; ecological information; disposal; transport; regulatory information; other information. The SDS tells you how to handle an emergency; it does not authorize a use or give legal application rates. Questions often set an SDS figure against a label figure to see which one you treat as binding - the label always wins.
Traps: quoting an SDS rate as a legal use rate; missing the re-entry interval; assuming a CAUTION product is harmless; assuming tank-mix compatibility is approved because two products are similar.
Rule of thumb: read the Directions for Use and Restrictions once when selecting, once when mixing, and once before you enter the treated space.